Designer Interview: Marc Praquin
Marc Praquin Agence Marc Praquin
By Jennifer Kwok, Managing EditorHow does a designer who started his career working with engineers to design buses, subways, and high-speed trains switch to designing perfume bottles? According to Marc Praquin, chairman and head designer for Agence Marc Praquin, the transition was easy.
Praquin studied design at the Ecole Nationale Súperieure des Arts Décoratifs in Paris. While acquiring his PhD, he worked under famed French industrial designer Roger Tallon. After five years of working in industrial design, Praquin was given an opportunity to design his first beauty product package. “A friend who used to work at Lancôme knew my work and introduced me to the beauty industry,” says Praquin. The first beauty package Praquin designed was the packaging for Ô de Lancôme.
For five years, Praquin worked as a freelance designer for the beauty and pharmaceutical industries. He began getting so many projects that in 1998 he started his own firm, Agence Marc Praquin. Today, the firm specializes in designing fragrance and other types of beauty product packaging.
Praquin’s designs include the packaging concepts for a host of Lancôme fragrances, including Magie Noire, Ô de Lancôme, and Ô oui! He also worked on Miracle, Miracle Homme, Trésor, Poême, and Hypnôse. His agency also handled the graphic design guidelines for the Sheer Stella line by Stella McCartney.
Agence Marc Praquin goes beyond simply designing packaging. According to Praquin, what sets the company apart from other design firms is that it can oversee the entire development process, from concept to production. “We don’t just throw out a design idea and then run away,” says Praquin. “What really interests us is to handle the design of a product from A to Z.”
The carton Praquin designed for Magie Noire.
The company starts by creating what Praquin calls packaging guidelines that can serve as a framework for the development of an entire packaging range. These guidelines can include everything from graphics such as a brand’s logo to packaging designs. Once the marketer has approved these guidelines, the agency will then oversee the execution of the packaging, in cooperation with the packaging suppliers.
There are several benefits to this one-stop-shop approach, including better communication throughout the process. “Producing a package requires a chain of command that usually involves many different agencies,” says Praquin. “The more that chain can stay within the walls of one office, the better things will work.”
But perhaps the biggest benefit to marketers is that the firm also ensures that the packaging it designs meets current legal requirements for packaging and copy. “There are a huge number of legal issues when you design packaging,” says Praquin. “For example, in the United States, a package can’t be more than 20% larger in volume than the amount of product it contains. Many brands don’t realize these types of requirements until later in the game.” Praquin adds that many designers don’t consider such legalities, preferring instead to focus only on aesthetics and relying on the marketer to handle the rest.
“Our approach is very avant-garde—and our customers currently understand its economic benefits,” says Praquin. “Our business is growing on a large scale, and it’s only the beginning.” n
[Quotes of Praquin were translated by François Salanon, senior vice president of sales for Agence Marc Praquin.]